Missile Qaem-118

The Qaem-118 is an Iranian short-range surface-to-air missile built specifically for the counter-unmanned-aircraft role. The IRGC Ground Forces revealed it on 19 February 2025 during the second phase of the Great Prophet 19 exercise, alongside the Golaleh drone.

Reported range is around 25 kilometres. The system combines radar, electro-optical and thermal tracking, a mix intended to hold a track on targets whose radar signature is too small to engage reliably by radar alone — the central problem in shooting down modern surveillance drones. Its fire-control radar can serve several launchers at once, letting one radar vehicle cover a wider area than a single launcher could. Analysts have likened the concept to the American Coyote Block 2 counter-drone interceptor.

The weapon drew attention during the 2026 war, when open-source analysts identified it in footage of Israeli Hermes 900 and Heron drones and American MQ-9 Reapers being brought down over Iran. Those identifications rest on imagery rather than official confirmation, and neither Tehran nor the operators of the aircraft have published a systematic account of which weapon accounted for which loss.